This invention relates to an adjustable locking foot assembly which is capable of maintaining a leveling adjustment made to the underside or base of a housing. More particularly, this locking foot assembly is provided for the purpose of maintaining the desired leveling of a postal or shipping scale.
When placing items such as envelopes or packages on top of a postal scale, it is desirable that the weighing platform be level so as not to encourage slippage or movement of the piece to be weighed while it is atop the platform. Leveling is also desirable in order to provide a strictly normal force on the postal scale load cell transducer thereby avoiding errors. Often located at the underside of a scale housing are a plurality of leveling feet for the purpose of leveling the top portion of the housing relative to the surface upon which the scale has been placed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,089 discloses leveling feet which are on threaded shafts and received at the base of the housing. Typically, when adjusting the feet for leveling in these prior art systems, the user must turn over the housing to reduce the weight pressure on the feet in order to turn the feet in the desired direction to adjust the height of the feet. Adjusting of the feet typically becomes a trial and error process which can lead to numerous overturns of the housing until satisfactory leveling is achieved.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/043,693, filed Apr. 8, 1993 and allowed on Feb. 18, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,182, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses an adjustable level support for a base, comprising a threaded support shaft having a non-circular configuration at one end, a leveling wheel capable of receiving and mating with the threaded support shaft, a retaining structure capable of retaining the rotational movement of the threaded support shaft and capable of restricting movement of the threaded support shaft relative to the base. The distinct advantage over the prior art was the ability to make critical adjustments to the leveling of the scale housing without having to overturn the scale housing, thus protecting the integrity of the circuitry, displays and the other component parts of the scale unit.
The object of the present invention is to provide critical leveling of the scale while providing the advantages of protecting the scale unit integrity by providing a locking foot assembly that permits the user to easily and quickly adjust the desired height of the foot and then lock the adjustment in place.